Valire Copeland, PhD, MPH Faculty - Social Work
Education
BSW, Social Work, Livingstone College, Salisbury, NC, 1977
MSW, Children and Youth, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 1978
MPH, Maternal and Child Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 1988
PhD, Social Policy/Social Research, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 1989
Bio/Interest
Dr. Copeland is the PhD Program Director and associate professor in the School of Social Work and Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences, the associate director of the Public Health Social Work Training Program, and faculty affiliate in the Center for Minority Health at the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public Health. She is also the Co-Director of the Faculty Diversity Seminar, Office of the Provost & Senior Vice Chancellor.
Dr. Copeland's research and publications have focused directly on minority health and mental health disparities in service delivery, program planning, and treatment engagement for women and children. Her current scholarship focuses on culturally appropriate engagement and intervention strategies and their impact on health and mental health status. Areas of interest include: community health education and health promotion, child health policy, maternal and child health service programs, and the health/mental health status of African American women and children. The purpose of Dr. Copeland's scholarship is to improve the cultural competency of health care professionals who design interventions to improve the health status outcome for maternal and child populations. This work has been disseminated to better understand racial disparities in health and its impact on the health and psychological well-being of vulnerable populations. As she has pursued this scholarly inquiry, Dr. Copeland has worked with, trained, and educated many undergraduate and graduate students as well as faculty and community workers in cultural competence, social justice, and multiculturalism for utilization in the classroom, clinic, and social service delivery systems.